Hoelun's Husband

Before the people of the steppes were united, a warrior would ride far to find a bride. The Olkhunut clan was renowned for the beauty of its women, and Chiledu sought across all the empty grasslands til he found their camp. He chose a fierce beauty to be his wife, and her family was pleased to have a strong son-in-law from the powerful Merkit clan. They feasted until late, and she spent her first night as a woman in his bed, showing no fear when came to make her his wife, opening her legs to him without struggle. In the morning, Chiledu hitched her wagon behind an ox, and they rode north with his fast bay mare tethered behind the wagon.

His wife, Hoelun, rode in the back, resting on thick furs, hidden behind the heavy felt walls as the wagon rolled and lurched and swayed across the steppe. The summer sun beat down on the heavy felt, and it grew stifling inside. Hoelun bore it as well as she could, but when they made camp that night under the stars, she asked Chiledu if he would not prefer to ride his mare and allow her to drive the wagon. Chiledu knew this was against tradition, but he felt how hot and miserable she was inside the wagon. If they came across anyone else on the steppe, she would hide until they passed. Her second night as a woman, Hoelun spent under the stars, languid as he gently caressed and sweetly took her.

She drove the wagon across the steppe, and Chiledu galloped ahead, and then trotted back to tell what he had seen over the next rise. She smiled at the pleasure and pride he took in his horse, and blushed when he walked the mare beside the wagon to look at her with the same delight. Then she would point out little things to him, the cooling breeze, the lavender blossoms in the feathergrass, or a hawk wheeling high in the distance ahead of them.

As the afternoon grew hotter, they came to the deep valley of the Onon river. The grass gave way to trees as they descended into the valley, and the breeze disappeared. Chiledu rode ahead to find the best path for the wagon through the trees, and Hoelun unwrapped the long sash that tied her brightly colored robe. She slipped the robe off and folded it carefully in the back of the wagon, and drove on in just a white silk shift. When Chiledu returned, his face lit up at the sight of her bared arms and shoulders, and the silk clinging to her. He guided the mare to walk close beside the wagon, and said very little, admiring his wild, beautiful wife.

On the ridge above them, another shared his admiration. Yesugai was a chief's son, raised in a lawless time. He was young and full of fire, a good leader in a dangerous time, and already had won the loyalty and respect of the other young Mongols. He sat in the shadow of a tall pine, and his eyes never left the lush beauty driving the slow wagon. By the standards of the steppe, she was practically naked, and her long, black hair hung unbound across her back. This savage angel had only a lone warrior with her, who seemed as captivated by her as Yesugai was. When the wagon vanished from sight beneath a screen of leaves, Yesugai turned and began to ride back towards his camp.

There was no law on the steppe, then, and the only rules were survival and strength. Yesugai was a proud young man, and impulsive, but not foolish. The wagon was slow, and his brothers were not far. He raced into their camp, shouting for two more swords, calling "I have found my wife! I have found her! I must claim my bride!"

Two of his brothers were with him, galloping across the steppe back towards the Onon valley. They were fierce raiders as well, and they grinned as they raced to help Yesugai claim his bride. They even wondered at his choice, for among the Mongols, a man only had one wife to bear him heirs. He could keep as many women as he could afford, if he chose, but a wife was chosen with care. Yesugai had women that he had captured on raids already, but whenever the subject of marriage came up, he had shrugged and smiled. His brothers were nearly as eager to see this woman who had captured his heart as he was to claim hers.

Hoelun heard the approaching hoofbeats a moment before her husband. She turned to look and saw three of them, galloping down into the valley, bows in hand, ready to fight. Chiledu saw the shock in her eyes and looked back, and his face turned white. There was no doubting their purpose, and he held his hand up to her to help her onto the horse with him.

"Two of us can't outrun them on one horse," his bride said. She reached down and pulled her shift over her head, pushing it into his reaching hand. "They will not kill me. Ride hard, if you get the chance to take them one by one, come back for me. If not, remember me when you breathe this."

Chiledu nodded. She was right, he knew, and he gazed at her, naked and defiant on the wagon, for a moment longer before he tucked her shift under his thigh and grabbed his whip. The bay mare hardly needed the whip, she sensed his urgency and tore away down the valley. Hoelun pulled back on the reins, stopping the wagon, and set the brake as the raiders thundered past, pursuing her husband. She shivered despite the heat, and slid down from the wagon.

Yesugai and his brothers kept pace with each other, riding close. They were impetuous, but they knew better than to let themselves get separated. They rode hard but the fleeing warrior had a fast horse, and once they cleared the far side of the valley, he began to draw away from them. They chased him, until he was scarcely a speck against the horizon, and then they slowed, and turned, and began to ride slowly back to the wagon. They did not speak as they rode.

Hoelun had put on a rich silk robe in the bright red and gold of the Olkhunut clan. She stood by the ox, leaning against it as if trying to take strength from it, and watched the three raiders approaching. The leader was easy to spot, by the quality of his arms and the way he accepted the others' deference without hesitation. His beard was thick on his chin, but his cheeks and strong jaw were shaved. He looked at her with his deep, hard eyes and then and he nodded to his men. "There is no other clan near here. He will have to ride many days to find an ally. I will bring the wagon back to camp by tomorrow night. Tell them to prepare a wedding feast."

The others rode away, and the leader turned to the Hoelun. She met his eye with a fierce glare, but he only pointed to the wagon and began to lead the ox in a wide circle, turning the wagon around to climb out of the valley. The steppe is too hard for anyone person to survive for long alone, and she had no choice but to wait alone for death, or to go with him. She scrambled up to the driver's seat, and glowered at his smile. As they rode, she wailed, lamenting her lost husband. The sun was low, and the sky streaked with pink by the time they left the valley behind and rode out onto the open plain.

He slid off his horse and put it on a long tether for the night, freeing the ox from the traces and tethering it on the far side of the wagon. He made a small fire and sat beside it, his back to the woman who remained perched stubbornly on the wagon driver's seat. As darkness fell, she grew quiet, and soon, the only sound besides the crackling fire was a distant owl hunting mice.

"He was a fool to display you like that in strange country." Yesugai spoke with absolute certainty. His voice was loud enough for her to hear, but dispassionate as a stone. "Now he has gone and he will die if he returns to try to steal you back. It is time for you to forget him. My name is Yesugai. You will be my wife, and your sons will be the chiefs of the Mongols. What is your name?"

She said nothing, and he stood and walked to the wagon. He took her by the arm and dragged her off the seat. She tried to pull free of him, but his grip was too strong for her to break and he laughed. She kicked at him, and he pressed her body against the wagon, grabbing her by her long, wild hair and pulling her head back. She screamed at him in her anger, and pummeled at him with her feet and fists. The harder she fought, the wider he grinned. He twisted her hair around his hand, pulling it tight, and covered her mouth with his.

The kiss stilled her struggles for a moment, and Yesugai tasted the salt of her tears. He pushed his leg between hers and tore open her robe, running his hand along her side, feeling the heat of her silky skin and the soft flesh beneath. He kissed her fiercely, then gently, letting his hand caress her thigh as she thrashed. His tongue teased her lips and she bit at him.

"You are mine," he snarled, leaving her mouth to look into her eyes. They were red from weeping and furious, and he held them for a few seconds, grinning. He licked a tear from her cheek, and followed their tracks down her jaw, pulling her head back to open her throat to his mouth. He kissed, sucked at her skin, bit her tenderly. He pushed his thigh between her legs, pressing it against her so he could feel the heat of her sex even through his soft leather trousers.

His mouth dropped down further, tasting her breast, his tongue flicked at her stiff nipple and she thrashed fiercely in his arms. He let his teeth sink into the hard nub and she wailed again, but she stilled. He smiled as his lips and teeth and tongue attacked her breast, until he felt her back arch a little towards him, pushing her breast against his face. He stepped back and pulled her robe off her shoulders, dragging it down to the ground and looking at her naked body

"You are mine," he said to her again. When she swung her fist at him, he caught her by the wrist and twisted her arm behind her back. His other arm slipped around her in a wrestlers hold and he dragged her to the ground, pushing her down in the tall feathergrass, his weight heavy on her back. She squirmed under him, but he pinned her and she could not budge him. His knees pushed her thighs apart, and she struggled harder, the grass and dirt scraping her knees and breasts as she thrashed. Above her, she felt him undoing the sash of his own robe, and then unlacing his leather trousers. When she felt his hot flesh pressing against her back, nudging between the round swells of her bottom she sobbed.

"You are Yesugai's," he whispered. "What is your name?"

He shifted his body down, so his pole pressed between her thighs, rubbing along the crease of her sex. She was slick already, her body knowing what would come, anticipating even. She wailed, protesting her body's weakness. Yesugai took her, pushing deep in a single hard thrust. She screamed and struggled even more fiercely, but she was pinned by his flesh inside her as surely as by his weight. He thrust into her, each stroke pounding deep and merciless. He did not rush to finish quickly as Chiledu had, but pumped hard and slow, savoring the way her slick tunnel gripped his shaft with each stroke. Her hips arched up. He heard a note of pleasure in her whimper, and he began to thrust faster.

"What is your name?" he grunted in her ear, hearing her gasps of pleasure now even as she fought to hate what he was doing to her. Her fingers dug into the earth as she felt him touching something inside her. With Chiledu, her happiness had come from his desire and the pride she took in satisfying his need. His love had been a wind blowing over the steppe, making waves in the grass. With Yesugai pumping into her, finding that place, she felt a need every bit as deep as his. He had built a storm inside her. She began to push her hips up, meeting his hard thrusts. Each stroke pushed a gasp from her, and her rage began to turn to desire.

His mouth found hers, kissing her, and he tasted the dirt and tears on her face. The taste of conquest. Behind her, he clenched his jaw, and his breath hissed through his teeth in savage grunts. She looked back, over her shoulder at him, meeting his eye. The fire he saw there burned for him.

"Your name?" he groaned in her ear.

"Hoelun." She surrendered her name, and let herself go. The storm inside her broke, and she screamed with a savage release. Her body writhed and shook as pleasure poured down in her. In the midst of it, she heard his howl of triumph, and felt his teeth mark her shoulder in furious ecstasy as his seed shot into her.

For a long time they lay, still grinding and squirming, finding hidden gasps of pleasure in each other's bodies. They panted and caught their breath, and slowly drifted down from the heights they had reached. When he withdrew, she gave a soft moan of protest, and he chuckled softly. He took her by the arms and pulled her gently to her feet, wrapping his arms around her.

"Come to bed, Hoelun, my wife."

She nodded. "Yes, my husband."